Raising Up A Branch: The prophecy is that there will be a descendant of David who will fulfill these predictions.
- Jeremiah 23:5.
What Will That Look Like?
1. There will be a king.
- Jeremiah 23:5.
2. He will be wise and just.
- Jeremiah 23:5.
3. His people will live in
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Starting with Jesus hanging between two criminals, this sermon focuses on how Jesus was a "friend of sinners" and offers four ways we can improve in that endeavor.

WHICH IMAGE FITS BETTER: Black tuxedo or orange jumpsuit?
- Mark 15:27.
- Here we have the stark image of Jesus hanging between two criminals. These are orange jumpsuit kind of people.
- On the other hand, we have the respectable crowd, perhaps wearing a black tuxedo to show their
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A look at Luke 1:80 where it says that John the Baptist "become strong in spirit." This is the verse before the famous Christmas story (Luke 2:1-7). The sermon encourages people to "train themselves in godliness" and become more like Christ.

- Story from Preaching Today of the person pointlessly trying to visit every Starbucks in America.
- “Accomplishing” something that really doesn’t amount to much.
- What we accomplish with our lives is what v. 80 got me to thinking about.
- This verse comes just before that famous
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Luke's gospel tells us that Mary and Joseph offered the poor person's sacrifice when taking Jesus to the Temple. Why would God have chosen for His Son to be born into a poor family?

TWO YOUNG PIGEONS: Jesus’ family gave the poor offering.
- Luke 2:24.
- Leviticus 12:8.
- Unless you know the Old Testament background, the mention of dove/pigeon offering is one that we would pass right over. We have no frame of reference on what it means.
- When we look back in
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The shepherds were excited to go see the baby Jesus. Have we lost our enthusiasm for what God is doing in the world?

COULDN'T WAIT: The shepherds were eager to go see what God was doing.
- Luke 2:15-16.
- Consider for a moment the eagerness, curiosity, and enthusiasm of the shepherds. They’re genuinely excited to go look into what God is doing.
- They were deeply affected by the good news.
- I want
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The angels proclaim, "Glory to God in the highest." This sermon looks at four ways that our lives can bring glory to God.

The Angels’ Praise: God deserves the highest praise.
- Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest.”
How Can Our Little Lives Bring Glory To Our Big God?
1. Make big requests when you pray – and then give God the credit when it happens.
- John 14:13.
2. Live a life that bears fruit
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A Christmas sermon focusing on the angels' proclamation: "on earth peace." The message looks at four mistakes that those three words help us avoid.

WHAT'S HE UP TO? It’s helpful to know someone’s intentions.
- Luke 2:14.
- Three words that reveal God’s intentions: “on earth peace.”
- As the angels share the message the Lord gave them to tell the shepherds, we learn about God’s intentions. This child who has been born in Bethlehem has
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The sermon focuses on the unimpressive sign the angels point to: a baby in a manger. Not much that's flashy about that. What are the ways that God comes into our lives that don't initially look impressive but are important and meaningful.

That’s All You’ve Got? Taken at face value, the angel’s sign is pretty unimpressive.
- Luke 2:12.
- Luke 4:17-21; Luke 4:41; Luke 5:14; Luke 13:18-21; 1 Corinthians 1:26-30.
- We get entranced by the Christmas story and the swaddling clothes and manger and don’t see it for what it is. In
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This sermon looks at the three titles about the newborn baby shared in Luke 2:11. It then unpacks what that title means and what it tells me about who I am and how I should live my life.

- In the midst of this Christmas proclamation from the angel, verse 11 has an amazing amount of information about this newborn child. Specifically, it shares three titles with us that each point us to a different aspect of who this child is.
- As we unpack these titles, each gives us insight
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Starting from the angels promise of "good news of great joy," this sermon asks why Christians often don't see "great joy" in their lives.

WHERE IS IT? The angel promised that this was good news of great joy.
- Luke 2:10.
- This passage has been repeated frequently enough during Christmastime that sometimes lose sight of its truth and just treat it as a cliché. The angel meant what he said: this was a message of good news of
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A message about the choice to proclaim the news of Christ's birth to the lowly shepherds. The sermon looks at how the shepherds were a foreshadowing of who the ministry of Jesus would focus on.

OF COURSE IT WAS SHEPHERDS: We act like this was an inevitable part of the story, but it wasn’t.
- Luke 2:8-12.
- The Christmas story is so familiar that we presume that each part had to happen that way. “Of course the shepherds heard from the angels. It had to be like that.” Only it
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This message focuses on Luke 2:6-7 and the unanswered questions that Mary and Joseph must have had as they end up in with no decent place to stay when the baby comes. How could God be with them and she have to put the baby in a manger?

SOME OF MARY AND JOSEPH'S QUESTIONS: “God, why have the birth so far from home?” “God, why didn’t You provide a place for us to stay?” “God, how can this be the place for the miracle child to be born?”
- Luke 2:6-7.
- I’m sure when the angel visited Mary and told her that she’d be carrying
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A look at the Christmas passage - specifically, the struggle of Mary and Joseph having the baby in Bethlehem far from home. A look at four ways God uses our struggles in our lives.

Mary And Joseph’s Road Trip: “Why does God allow these struggles in my life?”
- Luke 2:3-6.
- The trip to Bethlehem under such difficult circumstances had to be a struggle. Did they have questions? I know I would have. “God, why are You allowing this?” “God, have You forgotten us?” “God,
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This message addresses the difficulty of God maintaining His just nature while trying to save the humanity He loves.

God’s Precarious Situation: When it came to humanity’s sinfulness and God’s righteousness, God was in a difficult situation.
- Romans 3:25b-26.
- It’s a quandary. God is just but humanity is sinful. God loves humanity but is righteous.
Some Paths To Pursue:
1. Option #1: Give
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This sermon answers two big questions: 1. Why do I need the Law to make me aware of my sin? 2. Why would I want the Law to make me aware of my sin?

A Question: “If it can’t save us, why did God give the Law?”
- Romans 3:19-20.
- To clarify as we begin: when Paul here speaks of the Law, he has in mind the Mosaic Law given to Israel by God.
- By extension, we could make similar point about the truth of God generally.
- The Law does
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